Reality Film 'Real Cancun' Flops at Box Office

[TexasStooge]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "The Real Cancun," a topless, tequila-soaked look at college kids getting down and dirty on spring break, has failed its box-office exam, defying predictions that TV's "reality" genre was ready to sweep the big screen.

New Line Cinema's R-rated film from the producers of MTV's unscripted teen hit "The Real World (news - Y! TV)" grossed just $2.1 million in North American ticket sales Friday through Sunday, ranking a lowly No. 10 its first weekend in theaters.

The anemic opening doused expectations that the film, focusing on the bacchanal rituals of 16 college students on spring vacation in Cancun, Mexico, could revolutionize coming-of-age movies the way series like "Survivor" and "American Idol" changed the landscape of network television.

"I was surprised," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations Co. "I was one of those people going around saying this movie has the makings of a hit."

Part of those expectations were based on the success of another feature film adapted from a youth-oriented "reality show," MTV's "Jackass the Movie," which opened at No. 1 with nearly $23 million in ticket sales last October. "Jackass" went on to gross $64 million at the box office, a handsome return for a film that, like "Cancun," reportedly cost well under $10 million to make.

Officials at New Line, a unit of AOL Time Warner Inc., were not immediately available to comment.

Aside from the media frenzy surrounding "The Real Cancun," the film had been expected to benefit from generally positive word-of-mouth, not to mention the tacit promotional boost it received from the Motion Picture Association of America, which rated the film R for "partying" as well as for strong sexuality, nudity and language.

YOUNGER AUDIENCE SHUT OUT?

Those ingredients might seem like box office catnip for the film's ostensible target audience of moviegoers aged 18 to 25. But Dergarabedian said the R-rating and subject matter apparently hurt attendance by younger teens who were probably gung-ho about the movie.

"There were a lot of 14-, 15- and 16-year-olds who'd want to see this movie, but you have to be 17 or older to get into an R-rated movie without your parents," he said. "This is not the kind of movie parents are going to feel comfortable taking their kids to, and it's not the kind of movie kids would want to go with their parents to see."

Still, Dergarabedian predicted New Line would make a lot of its money back on "The Real Cancun" with a DVD release of an uncut version of the film.

Hollywood producer Tom Sherak, a partner at Revolution Studios, said the flop of "Cancun" has more to do with the old adage that audiences are reluctant to pay to see something in theaters that they can get at home for free on television.

Unscripted "reality" shows, driven by the success of hits like CBS's "Survivor," ABC's "The Bachelor" and Fox TV's "Joe Millionaire" and "American Idol," have proliferated on prime-time as networks increasingly turn to catchy, low-cost alternatives to costly sitcoms and dramas.

The lackluster showing of "Cancun" likely sent a shiver through Universal Pictures, a unit of Vivendi Universal, which is planning to release a similarly themed reality film "The Quest," later this year from "The Bachelor" creator Mike Fleiss. His film follows a group of college guys who drag one of their buddies to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico's Baja California on spring break to lose his virginity.

20th Century Fox, owned by News Corp. Ltd., is coming out with "From Justin to Kelly," a scripted musical starring "American Idol" contestants Kelly Clarkson (news) and Justin Guarini and set during spring break in Miami.

[wx247]

I am glad it flopped. Trashy,trashy,trashy!

[southerngale]

I saw Rita Cosby interviewing someone for this "movie" - the producer, director...I don't know. Anyway, she had all kinds of questions he couldn't answer very well and he kept saying how America was ready for this on the big screen. He could care less about the kids' parents, the negative messages it sends, the promoting of alcohol abuse, the promoting of sexual behavior with anyone anywhere, etc.

Not even a moral lesson anywhere...just promoting wild behavior.

Complete trash!!

[Amanzi]

I too am glad it flopped.. looks like a load of trash to me!

[JQ Public]

glad it flopped as well. sick of people glorifying all the trashy kids my age when there are many that aren't like that, but are good people.

[TexasStooge]

When I first saw the previews, I didn't think it'll last that long.